YH Products Adds New Product to Line

YH Products, a unit of a Japanese pharmaceutical company, has added a second organically grown health food to the output at its Oxnard plant.

The new product, Beta Carrot, is a powder made from young carrots grown on the Oxnard plain.

YH’s chief product is Green Magma, a powder made from locally grown young barley grass. The company says both items are rich in vitamins, minerals and enzymes, and are marketed mainly through health-food stores.

YH, headquartered in northeast Oxnard, is part of Green Foods Corp., a Torrance concern. Both firms are subsidiaries of Japan Pharmaceutical Development Co., based in Osaka.

A Green Foods spokeswoman estimated worldwide sales of Green Magma at over $13 million annually. The food is produced in Oxnard and Japan.

Deade Johnson, personnel director for YH and Green Foods, said YH has between 50 and 75 employees in Oxnard, depending on the growing season.

Instead of pesticides, YH uses ladybugs, praying mantises and spiders to help control pests.